Hamza Yassin: ‘I hang my pyjamas in the forest so the animals get used to my scent’

At school I was called a “weird nerd”. When I grew up those words changed to: “You are an expert.” I don’t mind being called a geek. Own your own originality, whatever it may be – then no one can take the mickey out of you.

My superpower is dyslexia. I always ask for assistance, I’m not embarrassed, I have other skills that compensate. I see the world differently and I notice everything.

Growing up in Sudan I didn’t know I was surrounded by nature – I was part of it. The longest river in the world, the Nile, was 800 metres from my grandma’s house. We took water from it. It was home to hippos and crocodiles, but it was part of our lives. The local kids played football with old weaver-bird nests. I didn’t realise I had a wonderful life until I came to the UK.

“Grandma will be upset” was my first thought when the plane door opened in the UK. I thought someone had left the fridge door open – how else was it that cold? – and Grandma always got upset about people doing that. I was only eight.

I tell people my heritage is in Sudan. I was born there. But home for me is the west coast of Scotland.

I remember every detail about everyone I meet: what they wear, their jewellery, their habits. People think I’ve taken notes about them. But I’m a visual, verbal person. It’s helped me in my work. It allows me to pick up subtle nuances about an animal’s behaviour and environment.

“Your otters are at the pier, go get them” is the kind of text message I get from my neighbours, who refer to me as the “animal guy”.

There was no one who looked like me that presented wildlife shows on television. So I thought, fine, I want to be the person who films Steve Irwin , the person that gets up close to that crocodile at the same time Steve Irwin jumps on it.

Sir David Attenborough was given an honorary degree from Bangor University in north Wales. So I went there, did a degree in zoology and never looked back. Many years later, I have that same honorary degree. I think of it as fate.

Jowita from Strictly massaged my feet to relieve the pain from hours of dancing. Before I did Strictly Come Dancing , not many people knew who I was. She changed my life. She asked me for two things: my full energy and my trust. I learned more about myself than at any other time. You push yourself to the limit. I thought I would be kicked out in week one, but I was in the hands of an expert. I never say, “ I won Strictly , ” I always say “we”.

I’m a recluse. I’m happy on my own. I spend most of my life outdoors. I need to be quiet, unseen, well camouflaged. If you want to get up close to a wild animal, you need to be inconspicuous as possible.

A month or two before I plan to sit in a hide and film, I hang my pyjamas in the forest so the animals get used to my scent lingering around.

Hamza’s Wild World by Hamza Yassin, illustrated by Louise Forshaw, is out now published by Macmillan Children’s Books at £14.99. Buy it for £13.49 from guardianbookshop.com